No fatalities in I-5 bridge collapse in NW Wash
By | Associated Press – 59 mins ago
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — An Interstate 5 bridge over a river north of Seattle collapsed Thursday evening, dumping several vehicles into the water as authorities investigated the cause of the collapse that cut off the state's main north-south thruway and sent three people to the hospital.Authorities said no one was killed and the extent of the injuries of the three people rescued from the water remained unclear, said Marcus Deyerin, a spokesman for the Northwest Washington Incident Management Team.A search of the river continues and a dive team was on scene as well as several rescue boats still on the river.
"We don't think anyone else went into the water," said Marcus Deyerin, a spokesman for the Northwest Washington Incident Management Team. "At this point we're optimistic."
Washington State Trooper Mark Francis said a portion of the four-lane bridge over the Skagit River collapsed about 7 p.m. It was not known what caused the collapse of the bridge about 60 miles north of Seattle in Skagit County, but the state Transportation Department said it was investigating whether an oversize load may have struck the bridge.A damaged red car and a damaged pickup truck were visible in the water, which appeared so shallow it barely reached the top of the car's hood.
Xavier Grospe, 62, who lives near the river, said he could see three cars with what appeared to be one person per vehicle. The vehicles were sitting still in the water, partially submerged and partly above the waterline, and the apparent drivers were sitting either on top of the vehicles or on the edge of open windows.
"It doesn't look like anybody's in danger right now," Grospe said.
Helicopter footage aired by KOMO-TV in Seattle showed several rescue boats at the bridge collapse scene with several ambulances waiting on the shore. One rescue boat left the scene with one person strapped into a stretcher.A damaged red car and a damaged pickup truck were visible in the water, which appeared so shallow it barely reached the top of the car's hood.
Crowds of people lined the river to watch the scene unfold.
"It's not something you see every day," said Jimmy O'Connor, the owner of two local pizza restaurants who was driving on another bridge parallel to the one that collapsed. "People were starting to crawl out of their cars."
He said he and his girlfriend were about 400 yards away on the Burlington Bridge when they heard "just a loud bang."
"Then we looked over and saw the bridge was down in the water," he said.
He pulled over and saw three vehicles in the water, including a camping trailer that landed upside-down, he said.
Kari Ranten, a spokeswoman for Skagit Valley Hospital, said two people who were injured in the collapse were en route to the facility. She said another person was being transported to a different area hospital.
The bridge is not considered structurally deficient but is listed as being "functionally obsolete" - a category meaning that their design is outdated, such as having narrow shoulders are low clearance underneath, according to a database compiled by the Federal Highway Administration.
The bridge was built in 1955 and has a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100, according to federal records. That is well below the statewide average rating of 80, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data, but 759 bridges in the state have a lower sufficiency score.
According to a 2012 Skagit County Public Works Department, 42 of the county's 108 bridges that are 50 years or older. The document says eight of the bridges are more than 70 years old and two are over 80.
Washington state was given a C in the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2013 infrastructure report card and a C- when it came to the state's bridges. The group said more than a quarter of Washington's 7,840 bridges are considered structurally deficient of functionally obsolete.___
Baker reported from Olympia, Wash. Associated Press writers Chris Grygiel in Seattle and Terry Tang in Phoenix also contributed to this report.
end quote from:http://news.yahoo.com/no-fatalities-5-bridge-collapse-nw-wash-045838024.htmlHere are some of the local news broadcast videos regarding this in Washington if you are interested from Youtube.com
Skagit bridge collapses on I-5 in Washington - Cars and people in the water
Skagit bridge collapses on I-5 in Washington - Cars and people in the water MOUNT VERNON, Wash — Both northbound and ...- NEW
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Breaking: Skagit River Bridge Collapses In Skagit County Seattle Washington - 5/23/13
5/23/13 - The Interstate 5 Skagit River Bridge in Washington state collapsed on Thursday evening, KIRO-TV reported. According ...- NEW
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BREAKING! I-5 Bridge Collapses Over Skagit River Cars Are In The River!
May 23, 2013 KING 5 News http://MOXNews.com I-5,Bridge,Collapse,Skagit,River,Interstate,5,highway,freeway,infrastructure ...- NEW
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Bridge Collapses in Washington State sends People, Cars into Skagit River (Raw)
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. -- An Interstate 5 bridge over a river north of Seattle collapsed Thursday evening, dumping vehicles and ...- NEW
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(Washington state) Cars, people in the Skagit River after I-5 Bridge collapse. Rescue on scene
Cars, people in the Skagit River after I-5 Bridge collapse.- NEW
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Live Coverage Skagit River Bridge Collapse 2 Remaining People Removed
A portion of an interstate highway bridge in Washington state collapsed Thursday night, sending cars and people into the water, ...- NEW
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Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse
The Interstate 5 Bridge over the Skagit River in Northwestern Washington State collapsed on Thursday evening, dumping vehicles ...- NEW
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Skagit River Bridge Collapse People and Cars Falls Into The Water (Raw Footage)
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. -- An Interstate 5 bridge over a river north of Seattle collapsed Thursday evening, dumping vehicles and ...- NEW
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Skagit River Bridge Collapse People, Cars Falls Into The Water in Wsahington
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. -- An Interstate 5 bridge over a river north of Seattle collapsed Thursday evening, dumping vehicles and ...- NEW
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I-5 bridge collapses in NW Wash.; people in water
The Washington State Patrol says the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River at Mount Vernon has collapsed, dumping vehicles ...- NEW
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I-5 Bridge Collapse Skagit Bridge Collapse In Washington State Sends Cars People Into Water
I-5 Bridge Collapse Skagit Bridge Collapse In Washington State Sends Cars People Into Water A portion of an Interstate 5 ...- NEW
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Skagit River Bridge Collapses In Skagit County Seattle Washington BREAKING NEWS
Skagit River Bridge Collapses In Skagit County Seattle Washington BREAKING NEWS The Washington State Patrol says the ...- NEW
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Washington state bridge collapse over Skagit River
A bridge on the I-5 over the Skagit River in Washington State has collapsed and at least two cars with people inside are in the ...- NEW
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Bridge collapses in Washington state - Cars, People in water
Part of a road bridge has collapsed into the Skagit River in the US state of Washington. Vehicles and people were thrown into the ...- NEW
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Skagit River Interstate 5 Bridge Collapse in Washington State
An Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in Washington has collapsed May 23 2013.- NEW
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Bridge Collapse Skagit Bridge Collapse In Washington State Sends Cars People Into Water
I 5 Bridge Collapse Skagit Bridge Collapse In Washington State Sends Cars People Into Waterbr /A portion of an Interstate 5 ...- NEW
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I-5 bridge over Skagit River collapses, cars with people in water
I-5 bridge over Skagit River collapses, cars with people in water Washington State Patrol confirms an I-5 bridge over the Skagit ...- NEW
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Live Coverage Skagit River Bridge Collapse 2 Remaining People Removed
Live Coverage Skagit River Bridge Collapse 2 Remaining People Removed A portion of an interstate highway bridge in ...- NEW
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Skagit County Sheriff Confirms 3 People Rescued From Washington Bridge Collapse
Skagit County Sheriff Confirms 3 People Rescued From Washington Bridge Collapse A portion of an Interstate 5 highway bridge ...- NEW
- This is another indication of our failing infrastructure in the U.S. The most dangerous failures are regarding bridges and gas mains that are blowing up like in San Bruno, California a few years ago. When our infrastructure was put in mostly after World War II by President Eisenhower's administration the country was rich. But now labor is so expensive we cannot afford to upgrade our infrastructure. This problem likely will get worse.
- But one solution is for us to do things differently. For example, phone lines aren't needed for cell phones only cell towers, Power plants aren't needed if you have enough solar and wind generators. Maybe alternatives to building bridges could exist if we flew in little helicopters so we didn't need bridges. Innovative thinking could solve infrastructure problems if it was well thought out and efficient and practical.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Skagit Bridge Collapses on I-5 in Washington
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